The Elder Goth
by A.C. Lucius
Summary: A new teacher comes to South Park Elementary and she is very spookily inclined!
1. Chapter 1

She walked through the halls of South Park Elementary with her black Victorian shoes clip-clopping on the linoleum-tiled floor. The hallway was empty except for one other, the echoing sound of her shoes alerting the man to her approach. The man was carrying a hot mug of coffee and humming quietly to himself. He wore a green long sleeved shirt and black tie that appeared to be tied on a bit too tight. In fact, it made his head look rather large. He stopped walking and turned to look at approaching woman, accidentally sloshing coffee down the front of his shirt, and he stood there distractedly trying to wipe it off until she came to a stop right in front of him.

"Is there anything I can help you with, m'am?" He asked while still wiping at his shirt.

"Ah, yes there is," she said with a polite nod of her head, she was very soft spoken and had friendly tone of voice, "I'm looking for Principal Victoria."

"Oh, but of course!" He exclaimed as some form of recognition dawned him, "You must be here about the new teaching position.-" the woman gave an affirmative nod- "Principal Victoria is in the faculty lounge, I'll take you to her…." He began leading her through the school halls and pointing out all the classrooms and such along way. He was just showing her the cafeteria when he came to a sudden halt and slapped himself upside the head.

"Oh how rude of me!" He exclaimed as he just completely forgotten his manners, "I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Mr. Mackey, and I'm the guidance councilor here at South Park Elementary. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask, m'kay?"

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind, Mr. Mackey." The woman said offering her hand, "And you may call me Emilie, Emilie Saunders."

Ethan, Henrietta, and Georgie were sitting at their usual spot at the school loading dock. Nothing was out of the ordinary, they just did what they normally do. Smoke, write poetry, and listen to abysmal sounding music on their beat up old radio. The only thing missing was their friend, Dylan. For a bunch of non-conformists, they sure had a monotonous routine going on. One can't help but wonder if they ever get bored, surely they had more going for them other than being dark and brooding? What could they possibly have to gain from being surly, anti-social twits?

_Only to make life more miserable for the conformists…. _What sad children they were indeed. Someone should've taught them that being Goth isn't about depression or self-harm, someone should've taught them that being rude to non-Goths is very unmannerly. Someone _should_ have, someone _needs_ to teach them. Oh where, oh where have the elder Goths gone?

"Have either of you seen Dylan today?" Asked Ethan in a bored sort of monotone. The other two gothlings shrugged their shoulders in reply and idly puffed on their cigarettes.

After quite some time, Henrietta cocked her head to the side and thoughtfully placed a pudgy finger on her chin. "Hmm," she grunted, "I think he had early morning detention or something."

Just then, Dylan came running apparently excited about something. He screeched to a halt rising up a cloud of dirt and panting laboriously.

"Well, speak of the devil. 'Bout freaking time you showed up." Said Ethan, "So, how was detention?"

"What?" Said Dylan still trying to catch his breath, "How the fuck should I know? I totally ditched."

"So then, where were you this morning?"

Dylan sat down next to Ethan and flicked his long bangs out of his face as he lit up a cigarette. He was quiet, presumably savoring his cigarette while he thought of a way to tell his friends about his exciting discovery. They were going to be blown away, that's for sure.

"Okay," he said cigarette smoke coming out of his nose, "so I was on my way to come meet you guys, when I saw this new teacher in the hallway. I decided to check her out."

"You can't really be serious." Said a cynical Henrietta. Dylan ignored her and continued as if she hadn't interrupted.

"So I was checking out the new teacher and it turns out that she's a Goth."

The normally reserved Georgie perked up upon hearing this news, his tiny little mouth was agape and he looked the most excited anyone has ever seen little kindergoth. Why, even Ethan and Henrietta were mildly surprised, but they were better practiced at hiding their emotions. Dylan sort of watch them as their slight, taken aback expressions turned into something that resembled mild skepticism. They seemed conflicted as to whether or not to believe him.

"Get the fuck out." said Ethan.

"No really, she's in Principal Victoria's office!"

"Okay you guys, I got to see this to believe it." Laughed Henrietta as she got up and started making her way the Principal's office. The others got up and followed suit.


	2. Chapter 2

"Well, Mrs. Saunders, I must say that you have quite an impressively entertaining teaching method." Said Principal Victoria as she sat at her desk with her hands folded in front of her. Emilie was sitting across from her on a chair normally designated for the purpose of reprimanding ill-behaved students. She smiled very endearingly and bowed her head at the principal's comment.

"Thank you for saying so, Principal Victoria!" She said, "I take great pleasure in teaching music and theater, and look forward to meeting my new students."

"I thought as much," the principal replied, "though I must warn you, in a public school environment the children have a tendency to be a touch unruly. If it is not too bold of me to say so Mrs. Saunders, I must express some concern that your aesthetic may be subject to ridicule." Principal Victoria had put a heavy stress on the word "aesthetic" and had at that point begun surveying Emilie's wardrobe. How lovely the new performing arts teacher looked in her white ruffled dress shirt, her black blazer, and her black bustle skirt and striped stockings!

Emilie looked as though she'd been expecting the subject of her attire to come up at some point in the conversation. However, a very polite smile played on her black-painted lips and she didn't seem at all bothered by the principal's comment.

"Well truthfully, that doesn't come as a surprise to me at all." Said Emilie, "In fact, I am very well practiced at dealing with such matters in a calm and diplomatic demeanor. Nevertheless, I thank you, I appreciate your concern. I truly do." She put a hand to her heart and leaned forward slightly to emphasize her sincerity.

It was then that both Emilie and Principal Victoria stood up and moved to the door. The principal opened the door for her, and they both walked out into the hallway. Once out of the principal's office, Emilie thought she caught a glimpse of someone about to round the corner, but was gone in a flash. This brief disturbance was followed by hushed voices, one of them saying something that sounded like, "Shut up, they'll hear us." Emilie craned her neck towards the sound to get a better look at whomever was spying on them.

"Is something the matter?" Asked Principal Victoria.

"Oh, no. No trouble." Replied Emilie, "I just thought I heard something is all."

"Well, it's probably just some mischief makers cutting class again. I'll deal with them later. For right now, I'd like to show you to your new classroom…"

Once they were gone, Dylan peeked around the corner to check if the coast was clear.

"Alright, they're gone." He said and he and his companions walked out into the open.

"So I guess you weren't kidding." said Ethan as he lit himself a cigarette.

"What now?" asked Dylan.

Ethan shrugged and said, "We just keep following her for now."

"I wonder what it'll be like having her as a teacher…" Henrietta thought out loud. The boys all gave her incredulous looks.

"What?" She demanded.

"You aren't seriously considering sitting through class with all those conformists, are you?" said Dylan.

"Well, it's better than stalking her!"

"You guys, stop!" Georgie piped up, "We can talk about this later, right now we should beat them to the music room."

"Kindergoth is right." said Ethan as he turned to follow Principal Victoria and the new teacher. "Let's go."

The others all shrugged their shoulders and followed their leader….


	3. Chapter 3

Emilie sat alone in her new classroom contemplating her curriculum for the semester. In front of her were three grade books with rosters included. She will be teaching two subjects, music and drama. According to her rosters, she will be teaching three two-hour long classes a day, for three different grades: kindergarten, fourth grade, and six grade. She hadn't even begun teaching yet and her head was already spinning with overwhelming thoughts of three lengthy classes. How would she fill her whole day? What can she teach her students that won't leave them feeling mind-numbingly bored? This was frightening. She knew very well that all most people- especially impressionable children prone to conformity- cared about these days was this week's Top 40 Hit Songs and the best films of the year. How could classical music and Shakespearean theater compete? What could Emilie do that would make her students drink in her words, and leave them yearning for more when she taught them about Mozart or The Death of a Salesman?

She already had an idea of how she planned to spend two hours with her kindergarten class. The youngest children are often easiest to amuse. Emilie would spend the morning introducing them to the musical staff, teaching them about the symbols and notes, as well as the spaces and lines on the staff. She would also lay out a few instruments for them to play with and show with them how they worked, and what they were for. Young children also love to bang things together, so it wouldn't be a problem keeping them entertained with a few percussion instruments. Emilie had a feeling that the kindergarten class just might turn out to be her favorite.

After some time had passed, Emilie decided that she needed a break. She stood up, gathered all her papers, grabbed her lunch basket, and walked out the door.

Henrietta was starting to become quite irritated. All of this sneaking around and "doing recon" on the new teacher was not what she had in mind when they agreed to check her out. In Henrietta's opinion, a better use of their time would've been taking the direct approach and interrogating the new teacher. But alas, none of the boys would hear anything of it. They wanted to be absolutely certain that Mrs. Saunders, as they learned her name was, wasn't a conformist before attempting to interact with her. Boys can be really stupid sometimes. Henrietta thought it would be nice if their was another female Goth to hang out with for a change.

She and the other three Goths were had come out from their hiding place behind the piano once the teacher left the room. They were all sitting on the piano bench, all them smoking cigarettes while they tried to figure out what their next move would be.

"You guys," said Henrietta now passed irritated, "this is getting us no where! Can we just quit stalking the teacher and talk to her already?"

"Just awhile longer." Said Ethan, "Be patient."

Henrietta shifted in her spot on the bench so she could face Ethan. She folded her arms across her chest in defiance and said, "No."

For a brief moment, Ethan had a horrifyingly affronted look on his face. He hopped down from the bench, and ran a hand through his hair as took a deep breath to calm himself. He slowly paced the room as he stared down the only female in their group. Henrietta stared back determinedly, Dylan and Georgie seemed to be holding their breath as they looked on apprehensively. Ethan stood over her now, and looked down his beak-like nose at her. She could see the wheels turning in his head, and wondered just exactly what was going on beneath that cloud of black curly hair. He then stoop down to her eye level and placed his hands on both sides of her on the bench. Their faces were close enough for them to have kissed. They held each other's stares a moment longer before Ethan spoke again.

"You absolutely sure about that, now?" he asked dangerously.

Henrietta would not be intimidated, "You guys can run around chasing Goth tail all day for all the fuck I care. I for one am going to stay right here and wait for her return."

Ethan stood back up to his full height, he slowly lifted his hands and began applauding in a manner that caused everyone in the room jump. A crazed laughter escaped his lips as he said, "Well, bravo! Defying the leader, that had to have been the most non-conformist thing you've done all day!"

Feeling abashed, Henrietta turned her back in huff and faced the piano. At first, she idly tapped at the keys, but then decided to busy herself with playing full compositions. She pointedly ignored Ethan as he continued to laugh in the background. Dylan and Georgie resumed their usual brooding stances, and listened to Henrietta play.


	4. Chapter 4

Emilie was on her way back from her lunch break when a disturbance came from the direction of the music room. She smelled cigarette smoke, and thought the classroom was on fire. Acting quickly, Emilie grabbed a fire extinguisher from the wall in the hallway, and began running towards the classroom.

"This is just great," she said herself, "first day on the job and my classroom catches fire! I am so going to get sacked for this!"

Just as she was about to wrench the door open and burst into the room, a sound caught her attention and she stopped to listen at the door. Someone was playing the piano and playing it very well! Emilie peeked in through the small window on the door, and saw four children, all of them clad in black. The one playing the piano was a chubby little girl in a black tattered gown. Sitting next to her with his back to the piano, was a tall gaunt boy around the age of eleven. Nearby were the other two boys, the one with fringed hair dyed red at the roots appeared to be the same age as the girl. The youngest one couldn't possibly be any older than five. The source of the smoke that she'd mistaken for fire was none other then the three boys smoking cigarettes.

"Well, that explains it." she aloud to herself.

Emilie quietly opened the classroom door, and gently sat the fire extinguisher down on one of the desks. Calmly and without interrupting, she made her way to the other end of the classroom and opened the back door. She held it open with a door wedge and walked over to where Henrietta was playing. The children had taken notice of her way before then, but hadn't fully acknowledged her until she was right in front of them. Henrietta had abruptly stopped playing. Their was a pause as all four of them looked at one another and back at the teacher. Ethan was the first person to speak.

"So, you're the new teacher…" he said.

"And you must be the little "mischief makers" that have been following me around all morning." Emilie replied.

"That seems to be right." Ethan said as took a drag of his cigarette.

As Emilie watched this, she couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. She walked over to where she had put the fire extinguisher, and left the room momentarily to return it to its proper place. When she returned, the children were still right where she left them. They hardly moved at all.

"So what was with the fire extinguisher?" asked Dylan.

"I thought the classroom was on fire." she said bluntly and added, "Which brings me to a point I'd like to make. I ask that if you must smoke, then kindly do so outside."

She gestured at the back door she left wide open. The boys shrugged and went to go sit outside by the door way. Emilie walked over to her desk and began fishing around in one of her drawers. Once she produced a spray bottle and an aerosol can, she began assaulting the entire classroom with frebreeze and air freshener. Henrietta, still seated at the piano, gave her a strange look. Seeing this, Emilie placed her items back in her drawer, and sat at her desk with her hands folded neatly in front of her. She merely gestured at the piano and said to young gothling, "Proceed."

Thus was how they spent their first afternoon with their new teacher. The boys sat outside by the open doorway smoking and writing poetry, Henrietta entertained everyone with her superb piano playing, and Emilie busied herself with her lesson plans for her first official day as a teacher. This would come to be a new routine that would gradually and positively influence the lives of the little gothlings….

**I Appologize for the short chapter, this just seemed like the right place to stop at for now. More to come soon...**

**Yours affectionately,**

**-A.C. Lucius**


	5. Chapter 5

The four gothlings went home that evening with an air of quiet anticipation. They thought only of seeing Mrs. Saunders again (though at the time no one would admit it),and were stricken with chagrin when they remembered it was Friday. How were they going to spend their weekend? It seemed that it would creep by so agonizingly slow, they could've written a poem about it. But alas, no inspiring words of pain could begin to describe the palpable emotions eating away at them. For what they felt was an emotion so foreign to them, that they had no words to describe it. Could they be? Dare they say it? Were they as their zombie conformist classmates say, excited? Happy? Whatever the case, the four of them mutually agreed to turn in early Sunday evening in order to get an early start on what they expect to be another week of misery and pain.

Monday morning came and something unusual happened. One might even go so far as to say there was a disturbance in the force. For what happened that morning when the students of South Park Elementary went to class was so unprecedented, no one could immediately wrap their minds around it. The Goth kids actually showed up to class! The following proceedings all happened at the same time, in various different parts of the school:

Georgie, the lucky little kindergoth, had Mrs. Saunders' class first thing in the morning. He sat at the desk at the very front of the classroom, bouncing with excitement. The other kindergarteners had filed into the classroom and started choosing their seats, when they first took notice of him. At first, none of them were sure if Georgie was part of their class or not, but their confusion was soon put to rest when Mrs. Saunders did role call and his name turned up on the roster. Georgie behaved as if nothing was amiss and ignored Ike Browbloski, who was giving him strange looks from the seat next to him.

Ethan had just taken his seat in his homeroom when his share of the harassment started. The six graders all stared at him, whispering about him behind their hands. Some of them giggled and pointed at him. This however, was nothing compared to what happened next. Shelly Marsh had walked in and like everyone else, took immediate notice of him. Ethan can appreciate when someone's being direct with him, however, what she did to him was a touch vulgar and it was all he could do not to engage her at that moment. Shelly took her seat behind him and gave the bottom of his chair a good firm kick. He clenched his jaw angrily when he felt the jolt, and turned to look at his tormentor.

"Hey turd," she lisped through her bulky retainer, "Today must be a cold day in hell if you're in class."

Ethan glowered at her and turned his attention back to the front of the classroom.

Meanwhile, a similar situation was happening in the fourth grade classroom. Henrietta and Dylan sat in the very back of the room, hoping no one would notice them. But alas, no such luck. As Stan Marsh and Kyle Browbloski went to take their seats, they did a sort of double take and gave them incredulous looks.

"What're you looking at?" demanded Henrietta.

"What are you guys doing in class?" Asked Kyle.

"Yeah," Said Stan, "I thought going to school was like, for conformists or something."

"School _is_ for conformists." retorted Dylan.

Pause. Kyle and Stan blinked at them as they waited for Dylan to elaborate further. The two gothlings stared back at them gloweringly.

"'Kay," said Kyle, "so then why _are _you in class?"

"None of your business." Said Henrietta.

Just then Mr. Garrison, the fourth grade teacher, walked in and called for absolute silence. All the students quietly took their seats and waited while Mr. Garrison took attendance. The teacher didn't even bother calling out their names. He just looked about the classroom from his seat at his desk, and began ticking off his students' names as he mumbled them under his breath. When he got to Henrietta and Dylan on the roster, the whole class distinctly heard him mumble, "…And Henrietta and Dylan are absent again…."

"Uh, no we're not." said Dylan, " We're over here, see?" He and Henrietta raised their hands so the teacher could see them. They immediately regretted it.

The whole class simultaneously turned to look at them. In moments, the classroom erupted with whispers and mumbles.

"Okay class, simmer down!" said Mr. Garrison, "This is a surprise. Well, since the two of you finally showed up after skipping class for four consecutive months, you've got a lot of catching up to do. I suggest you both sit up front and pay close attention."

The two gothlings blankly stared at the teacher.

"Move your asses, or I'm giving you detention!"

"But of course," came a sarcastic remark from Henrietta, "because we don't stand out enough as is…."

Dylan and Henrietta each heaved a sigh, and relocated to the front row between Eric Cartman and Wendy Testaburger. Some of the students began snickering, some of them resumed their whispering.

"It's moments like this I wish I were dead." Dylan mumbled at Henrietta.

"For sure." she replied.


	6. Chapter 6

Three agonizing classes later, the drudges of public education trudged into the school cafeteria and filed into the lunch line. The four gothlings sporting the most tortured expressions imaginable, raced to each other's sides and quickly retreated to the back of the cafeteria. Simultaneously dropping their trays with a loud clang on the table, they heaved a group sigh and flopped down into their seats. Ethan nervously drummed his fingers on the table, a slight tremor in his hand. He was itching to have a smoke, that much was apparent.

They were quiet for a few moments longer as Henrietta produced a thermos filled with warm coffee, and began handing out styrofoam cups. When they were all settled down with their respective cups, Georgie, heaving another sigh, was first to speak.

"Do I even have to ask?" he said.

"This is exactly why I fucking hate school," complained Dylan, "everywhere we went today, people kept staring at us like we were fucking weirdoes or something."

"And what the hell was up with everyone gossiping and laughing and pointing at us?" Interjected Henrietta.

"I never realized that showing up to class would be that big of deal." said a distraught Georgie, "Nobody even knew that I was part of their class 'til this morning, and they pretty much treated me as if I didn't exist…"

"I literally got my ass kicked today." said Ethan, "Raven's sister kept kicking the bottom of my chair-"

Just then, Shelly came up right behind him shouting, "Hey terd!" as she once more gave the bottom of his seat a hard kick. Ethan cried out in annoyance as he jolted in his seat. He leaped from his place at the table and turned to face the offending classmate.

"What the fuck is your problem?" shouted Ethan.

"You want to fight, terd?"

In a horrible moment of confusion, Ethan was suddenly spun around and shoved head first onto the table. The lunch trays fell off the table, spilling their contents onto the laps of Henrietta and Georgie. The two of them shouted as they recoiled from the mess their unwanted guest had made, and leapt from the table. Pain erupted up Ethan's arm as Shelly twisted it behind his back, preventing him from moving.

From across the cafeteria, Stan looked on in horror as his sister prepared to pound the living hell out of his former friend. Everyone within the confines of Stan's table turned to see what he was looking at.

"Dude! Shelly's going to pulverize him!" Stan shouted.

Kyle winced sympathetically and said, "Maybe we should go help them…."

The other boys at the table all stared at them blankly as if they just completely lost their minds. Stan could clearly tell what they were thinking: _What? And get my ass kicked by your sister? Fuck no! _They both sighed dejectedly and went to go help the Goth kids on their own.

Emilie walked in the cafeteria just in time to see the whole spectacle play out. It was a good thing Principal Victoria informed her that she was cafeteria monitor for the day, otherwise this incident might've gone unnoticed. She saw Dylan throw himself at Shelly in a feeble attempt to rescue his friend only to get swatted in the face at by the back of her hand, and stumble backwards in a daze. Emilie gasped, apparently scandalized by this violent act. The teacher angrily marched her way towards the back table just as Stan and Kyle were attempting to pull the Herculean girl off of Ethan.

"Back off, terd!" She heard Shelly yell at her brother, "You'll get yours when we get home…."

"Young lady!" Emilie shouted when she was just close enough to intervene, "You let go of that boy right now!" She hadn't bothered to hide how beside herself she was at the fact that someone actually dared to harm her precious baby bats. Emilie suddenly became aware of just how protective she was of the little gothlings, even after only just meeting them.

Shelly grudgingly relinquished her hold on Ethan. The other three gothlings as well as Stan and Kyle, immediately occupied themselves with making sure he was okay. Emilie had such a dangerous look on her face when reprimanding Shelly, that the girl began to feel a little frightened.

"Now," Emilie said icily, "go to the principal's office at once! I will be there shortly…"

The girl didn't argue, but left the cafeteria as she was told. Once she was gone, Emilie turned her attention to Ethan.

"How's your arm?" she asked him, her voice a lot more gentle, "Is it broken?"

Ethan shook his head in reply and surveyed the entire lunchroom. No one except for the boys at Stan and Kyle's table saw what happened. At least that's one thing to be thankful for…

Henrietta reached under the table and sighed as she retrieved her now empty thermos, its contents having been spilt on the floor and down the front of her dress.

"Don't worry dear," Emilie assured her, "I can brew another pot later. For now, we need to clean up this mess and get you all a change of clothes."

The teacher stooped down and began picking up the fallen trays. The others joined her by picking and wiping up the spilled food. Once the mess was all cleaned up, Emilie thanked Stan and Kyle for all their help and sent them on their way. Emilie beckoned the Goth kids to follow her as she made her way out of the cafeteria. As they passed Stan and Kyle's table, Stan profusely apologized to Ethan about Shelly.

"Whatever, it's cool." was only reply he offered him as he and his friends followed behind the teacher.

On their way to the principal's office, they passed Mr. Mackey in the hallway. Emilie briefly stopped to engage him.

"Mr. Mackey, I'm glad I found you," she said, "these children were being bullied in the cafeteria by a girl I just sent to the principal's office. These boys here were attacked by her-" She indicated Ethan and Dylan. "-and we were just on our way to see Principal Victoria. Can you be a dear and escort them to her while I find a change of clothes for Henrietta and Georgie?"

"Oh yes," Mr. Mackey replied earnestly, "how unfortunate! Of course I'll help."

"Thank you so much, Mr. Mackey."

"Oh, anytime you need me Mrs. Saunders, I'm more than happy to help. Well, come along you two."

Dylan and Ethan followed the guidance councilor and Emilie walked off with Georgie and Henrietta in another direction.

"Where are you taking us?" asked Henrietta.

"To the locker room. You can both wash up there, and I'm sure I can scrounge up a change of clothes for you there as well."

Henrietta didn't quite like the sound of that, but was grateful for the shower. While they were showering in the locker room, Emilie dug around in the laundry room, and found some old gym clothes that were halfway decent. She found two pairs of blue gym shorts, an over-sized black t-shirt, and an extra small black t-shirt. Altering the t-shirts as best as she could, she tore off the sleeves of the over-sized one and tattered the bottom hem of it. Then she tattered the sleeves and bottom hem of the extra small one.

While they changed, Henrietta inspected the teacher's handy work in the mirror. Emile came up with an extra piece of fabric and offered it to her.

"Here," she said, "if you tie this around your waist, it'll look like a dress."

The gothlings surveyed their reflections with semi-approval. It was recess by the time they met back up with Ethan and Dylan. No one was happy, that much was certain, but at least the matter with Shelly Marsh had been solved. They counted their lucky stars that Mrs. Saunders came by when she did, who knows what would've happened other wise.

"If I needed a smoke before, I definitely need one now." said Ethan.

Everyone agreed and went to their spot behind the school to light up.


	7. Chapter 7

At the school loading docks, the Goth kids sat around looking extremely pensive. Several quiet minutes passed as they puffed on their cigarettes. None of them felt much like talking, but after awhile, the silence became maddening.

"Hey," said Dylan, "don't we like have music next period?"

"That's right," said Henrietta, "I forgot all about it."

"We're going, right? We're not going ditch, are we?"

Another silence filled the back of the school as they each mentally debated whether or not they wanted to go back to class. As tempting as it was to just blow off the rest of the day, they knew couldn't quit now. In the end, Ethan ultimately deliberated their fate. It was the hardest decision he'd made all day.

"What the fuck?" he tried to play off nonchalantly, "We might as a well finish what we started…."

For whatever reason, they felt a lot better than they did just moments ago. They could feel the smiles threatening to tug at their lips until smiling became unavoidable, and trickles of laughter came bursting from their throats. What the heck was wrong with them? Today was one of the most horrible days they'd ever endured, what was there to laugh about? Perhaps they officially snapped, perhaps it was because they knew that things couldn't possibly get any worse.

As their laughter died down, Dylan paused as he looked at Georgie and Henrietta. He scrutinized them for a brief moment, only now taking notice of their makeshift Goth clothes, and said, "Um, what're you guys wearing?"

Henrietta and Georgie broke into more peels of laughter.

Emilie sat at her desk looking over her lesson plan for the fourth grade class. She couldn't concentrate though. The teacher stared on at Dylan and Henrietta's names on the roster and sighed. It wouldn't surprise her if they decided not to show up. Disappoint her, yes. Surprise her, no. Emilie was very much aware of their ill behavior prior to her employment at the school. The day she met them, she looked up their profiles in the school records and wasn't at all surprised by what she'd read. It's hard to be Goth. You can be super friendly and well meaning, but if you look like a freak, people put you down for it. They fail to understand you, the lack of understanding causes fear, the fear causes anger. In turn, the anger causes people to react with cruelty and malice. One bad thing leads another until the said "freak" is forced to retaliate and gradually becomes surly, anti-social, and just plain unmannerly. For this reason, many Goths become very wary of the mainstreamers, the "conformists."

This happened so often to Goths that over time, the subculture as a whole got a bad reputation and everyone believed that Goths were a bunch of devil-worshipping occult freaks. That they were dangerous, that they were stuck up and didn't like anyone, that they were prone to depression and self-harm. The list of misconceptions about the Gothic subculture goes on and on. Some of the Goths even fall into the trap of becoming the stereotypes the mainstream perceive them as! One major reason that Emilie must re-educate her wayward baby bats in the decadent arts.

Mrs. Saunders heaved another sigh and took a sip from her coffee mug. _What am I to do?_ She thought. But then it suddenly came to her. She took her cell phone out of her purse, and dialed her husband's number. Emilie's husband was an artist and a gardener who often worked at home, and she figured that he would be in his office at this time of day. The phone rang five times before he answered.

"Hello, Nathan Saunders speaking." said her husband.

"Nathan darling, it's me, Emilie." she replied.

"Well, this is a surprise," Nathan said brightly, "How's your first day on the job?"

"Very well, except that I already had to break up a fight."

Her husband's voice sounded concerned. "Are you okay?"

"Of course Nathan, I'm unharmed." she reassured him, "But the reason I called darling, is because I was wondering if you knew where to find Jillian's number…"

"I think we wrote it down in our address book, let me go check…"

Emilie waited as Nathan went to go look for their address book. He came back a few moments later, talking only long enough to confirm that she was still on the line. She could hear him riffling through the pages, and muttering under his breath as he skimmed through the columns of the book. Emilie was jotting down the number as Nathan read it aloud to her when a few of the students from her next class came in and sat down. She did a small double take as Henrietta and Dylan walked in and sat down together in the front row.

"Thank you darling, that was about all I needed." she said a little distractedly, "But I have to go now, my next class is about to start soon. I love you too, bye-bye!"

After Emilie had hung up with her husband, she got up from her seat at her desk and went over to talk to Henrietta and Dylan. The two looked up at her as she approached with inquiring looks on their faces.

"This is a pleasant surprise." Mrs. Saunders said so that only they could hear, "I honestly didn't expect you to show up after what happened…"

The two of them shrugged like they had no idea what possessed them to come to class either. They didn't really seem to have anything to say about the matter though.

"Ethan's coming next period." Dylan said just for the sake of conversation.

"That's good to hear." said Mrs. Saunders, "Well then, are we ready to get class started?"

**I apologize for another short chapter. However, some very new and interesting developements have occurred in the creation process, and for the sake of keeping things suspensful, there may be a few gaps in the story come future chapters. Check back frequently, and please comment and tell your friends about The Elder Goth.**

**Yours Affectionately,**

**-A.C. Lucius**


	8. Chapter 8

By some miracle, what was at first a pretty messed up Monday morning, turned into one of the most kick-ass weeks the little gothlings have ever had. They learned quite an awful bit from their teachers, and even learned a little bit about themselves. What could be better than learning something new about yourself especially if the thing you learned is something good? What they learned was that they love going to school, they love to learn. And you know what? They're actually pretty damn smart…

It was once again Friday afternoon, the week coming to yet another close much to the chagrin of everyone's favorite Goth kids. On this afternoon, like every other afternoon this week, they hung out in Mrs. Saunders' classroom. Ethan, Dylan, and Georgie were outside at their usual spot next to the doorway smoking their cigarettes, and Henrietta was once again at the piano keeping everyone entertained. One thing that everyone noticed was that she was getting better and better at playing. She'd even begun making up her own music. It was a peaceful afternoon, there was hardly a care in the world…

As Mrs. Saunders finally polished off her lesson plans for next week and prepared to leave, the four little gothlings approached her desk. They waited as Emilie finished packing her things before asking her what had been on their minds all day.

"So…" said Ethan, "um, what're you doing this weekend?" Don't you just love how preteen boys cut to the chase?

It only just occurred to Emilie that perhaps her precious baby bats were actually fond enough of her to want to spend time with her outside of school. Naturally, Mrs. Saunders was touched.

"Tomorrow my husband and I are going to have a picnic in the cemetery with a few of our friends." Emilie replied, "If you like, you may accompany us."

"When's the picnic?" asked Henrietta.

"Tomorrow morning at eleven."

Although they tried to hide it, the four gothlings were really quite thrilled at being invited some place by their favorite teacher. There was once again that air of quiet anticipation as they bid farewell to Emilie and departed the school to make their way to Henrietta's house. Everyone was in very high spirits that evening.

While the quality was life was steadily improving for the Goth kids, it was a completely different story for one member of their party. Dylan. Now everything was going right for Dylan just the same as for everyone else. However, things were also going to get worse for the most wayward of the four, though at the time he had no way of knowing this.

They all agreed to spend the night at Henrietta's house so that they can all be ready when it came time to meet with their teacher at the cemetery the next morning. It was all the usual activity that occurred at Henrietta's bedroom: smoking, writing poetry, and listening to music. They then later had to endure Henrietta's mother, who was insufferably cheerful, at the dinner table when it came time to eat. After watching a grainy, black and white horror film, they retreated back to Henrietta's room for bed. Henrietta generously shared her bed with Georgie, while Ethan and Dylan slept on a large futon laid out on the floor. This is when Dylan's troubles first began….

It started with a dream.

Nineteenth century London… Oppression, violence, and cruel child labor was at it's highest peak.

Dylan sat at a small work table of the filthy, rat-infested Warren's Blacking Factory.

The exact details were fuzzy to him but he knew this to be the setting in which his dream took place. He sat between two boys, one of them a dark haired boy of age twelve. The other boy who appeared to be the same age as Dylan, had long silky blonde hair and wore an eight-quarter hat. The three of them together were busily pasting labels onto bottles of shoe polish. Not much conversation was exchanged between the three, it was a very dreary atmosphere. The boy to the left of him looked particularly forlorn and dejected, and Dylan received quite a shock when he looked at him.

He knew the boy to be Ethan. It was Ethan! Albeit his nose wasn't quite so large and bird-like, and his curly hair was styled differently. However, when the clock could be heard chiming thus marking the end of the dreadful work day, a most curious thing occurred. Dylan turned to address Ethan, and said to him as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "Worcher, Charles. Time to packs it in now, Ol' chap!"

Charles/Ethan heaved a sigh and stood to leave with his friends…

The scene changed, they were now outside. The dusky sky was painted with hues of red, pink, and purple and growing steadily darker. The blonde boy with the eight-quarter hat departed at a brisk pace, waving at the two of them as he ran.

"Goodbye Charles! Goodbye Bob!" he said.

"Goodbye Poll!" Dylan shouted returning the wave.

Dylan turned his attention back to Ethan/Charles and noticed that his melancholy state hadn't changed much. Though he knew that he was in no better position, Dylan couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Ethan/Charles was supposed to be a scholar, he hated not going to school but, he had to work. He needed to payoff his father's debts, otherwise his whole family would have to stay in that wretched debtor's prison.

"Cheer up, Charles." Dylan said clapping him on the shoulder, "I know how things must look, but you have to believe that things will get better…."

"Thanks, Bob." said Ethan/Charles, the first words he'd spoken all day, "I'll see you tomorrow…"

As Dylan watch his woebegone friend walk off into the London streets, the dusky sky had completely blackened and was beginning to dot itself with stars. The lone figure now in silhouette, stopped half way up the street sparing the Marshalsea a despairing look before continuing on his way….


	9. Chapter 9

The next day was bright and sunny. Birds can be heard chirping from their trees and the air smelled fresh. A sort of tranquility settled over the four gothlings as they step outside and greeted the morning. As they were on their way to the cemetery, Dylan couldn't help but stare constantly at Ethan. Everyone was so excited, that they barely noticed that he was slightly out of sorts. Henrietta walked ahead of the group, sporting an elaborate Victorian dress and carrying a parasol over head. Georgie skipped happily at her side. They were soon approaching the cemetery when Ethan caught Dylan stealing another glance at him.

"Why do you keep looking at me?" asked Ethan.

Dylan was taken aback. He wasn't consciously aware of what he was doing, and he was embarrassed that he got caught in the act.

Feeling annoyed, Dylan said in a reproachful retort, "You look like Charles Dickens."

Ethan cocked an eyebrow at him as if to say, "Should I even ask?" and picked up the pace as Henrietta stopped to impatiently tap her foot at them.

Mrs. Saunders was waiting with her friends at the top of a hill when they arrived. She had chosen a spot next to a mausoleum were the grass was particularly green and the area was coolly shaded. Emilie warmly greeted them and complimented Henrietta on her outfit. Georgie shrieking with glee, ran to Emilie and threw his arms around her waist. Mrs. Saunders returned this affectionate greeting by stroking his soft dark hair.

"Well, hello!" Emilie said cheerfully, "How's everyone doing this morning?"

"Very good, Mrs. Saunders!" exclaimed the excited Kindergoth still clinging to her waist, "We're so happy you invited us!"

A smile spread across Henrietta's face upon watching this scene. Even Ethan and Dylan managed to crack a little smirk.

"Thank you having for having us." Henrietta said with earnest.

A tall, handsome man wearing black slacks adorned with chains, and a waistcoat over a long sleeved mesh shirt, came up behind Emilie and clapped her on the shoulder.

"Well lookee here." he laughed surveying Georgie with interest, "I'd say the decadent little cherub fancies you, Em."

Emilie stooped to Georgie's eye level and said, "Georgie, this is my husband, Nathan."

"Good to meet you, Georgie." said the tall handsome man offering his hand to the little kindergoth, "It's really nice to meet all of you, Emilie has said nothing but good things about you…"

Nathan and Emilie then proceeded to introduce their friends, one of them a woman with short pink hair named Lily, the other a man with long black hair tied back in a ponytail who's name was Kent. They both exchange pleasantries with the gothlings, and everyone settled down on the blanket (Georgie sat in Emilie's lap) to partake of the picnic food. The lovely spread prepared for this occasion consisted of finger sandwiches, tea served in a fancy teapot (with utensils included), potato salad, some apples and other various fruits, and a blueberry pie for dessert. Everyone talked, joked, and laughed amongst themselves, and Nathan enjoyed talking and playing with Georgie. The kindergoth giggled like an infant when Nathan picked him up and carried him around on his shoulders.

Lily and Kent laughed at the spectacle.

"Well, don't you all just make a pretty picture." said Kent.

"You guys look just like the Addams family!" Lily commented and began taking out her camera, "We have to get a group photo of you guys!"

Emilie and Nathan scooted close together with Georgie sitting between them, Henrietta leaning in close to Emilie, and Ethan and Dylan positioned next to Nathan. After being blinded by the flash of the enthusiastic photographer's camera, everyone resumed their talking and picnicking. Dylan couldn't help but notice how close Georgie seemed to be getting to Mrs. Saunders, and how he so quickly and easily melted the heart of Mr. Saunders. It seemed that the three of them would make a very nice family, and Henrietta and Ethan also took notice.

After awhile, Emilie produced a brown paper bag and handed out four black paperback books to the gothlings. The books were entitled, _Gothic Charm School; An Essential Guide for Goths and Those Who Love Them _by Jillian Venters with illustrations by Pete Venters.

"Gothic Charm School?" Dylan said with an incredulous look on his face.

"Monday after that unfortunate incident in the cafeteria," Emilie explained, "I had taken the liberty of calling our friend, Jillian."

"Oh, you lucky little heathens!" Lily interjected cheerfully.

"Jillian is the founder of the Gothic Charm School website," Emilie continued, "and she's always offering advice to Goths on how to deal with the problems we commonly encounter in our day to day lives. As a result, she has written her own book on the subject matter. Jillian was very sympathetic to your plight and so she sent copies of her book free of charge."

"Whoa," said Henrietta, "that was nice of her, she didn't have to do that."

"We all need a little help now and again."

The Goth kids went home that evening with their minds full of new information. They had initially started learning from their experiences this week that there was more to being Goth then meets the eye, but everything that Mrs. Saunders and the Lady of the Manners (Jillian Venters' alias) taught them put it all in perspective. Be yourself, but be polite. When you look different, it's important not to scare people, it's important to mind your manners. If you do as the Lady of the Manners suggests, the better reputation Goth as a whole will get. Thus the four gothlings learned their first lesson in Gothic Charm School: Subversion Through Politeness…


	10. Chapter 10

The weeks had flown by very swiftly until before long, it was half way through the semester. With a great deal of effort, the four gothlings had managed to keep up with their day to day studies, and endure unpleasant classmates, all the while making up the months of class work they missed. It was a very busy time for them all, they seldom saw one another save for when they hung out in Mrs. Saunders' classroom or went out on Saturday picnics in the cemetery. They barely even had time to smoke anymore until one day, they just quit all together.

One afternoon, the Goth kids sat together in Mrs. Saunders' room cramming for their mid-term exams. Mrs. Saunders was working on her lesson plans as usual, however there was no piano playing from Henrietta today for she also needed to study. Henrietta and Dylan were quizzing each other on dates and events when Ethan got up and walked over to Emilie's desk.

"I was just wondering," Ethan said to Mrs. Saunders, "We got mid-terms in all of our classes expect yours. Aren't we getting tested at some point?"

"Oh!" said Emilie a bit nervously, "Well, yes of course your getting mid-term exams for my classes. I wasn't going to let you guys weasel out of it, don't worry. But your not going to be tested on anything you've learned in my classes."

"Are you serious?" asked Ethan.

"Yeah," Dylan interjected, "introducing new material in our exams doesn't sound very fair."

"No, no, no…" Emilie said while shaking her head, "You misunderstood me, I would never do that to you, I promise. Your exams are actually going to be projects that you'll be working on outside of class."

"Ooh, really?" Henrietta piped up as she looked up from her text book, "What kind of a project?"

Thinking fast, Emilie replied, "Oh, well I'll impart more details about it tomorrow in class, but right now I really must going. I didn't realize it had gotten so late…" she began to hastily pack up her things, and once the classroom was locked and she was outside the school building, had all but ran to her car and almost forgot to bid farewell to her favorite students.

Emilie had taken off, leaving the gothlings standing on the curve with the most confused looks on their faces. She felt bad about doing that to them, but felt even worse about what she was going to do to them the next day in school. If taken the wrong way, they will never forgive her for it, but for tomorrow's mid-term she'd planned to have them separated.

Emilie took a deep breath and gripped her steering wheel a bit firmer…

The next day, there was an uproar in all of her classes. Emilie had feared this would happen, but nonetheless put her foot down to let her students know that her word was final. It was actually the first time since breaking up the fight in the cafeteria that she actually had to raise her voice to her students. Through out the rest of the day, she had endured the accusing stares of her baby bats. Looks that seem to say, "How could you? We thought you cared about us!" were enough to make poor Emilie cry. And what had she done to deserve this? This is the unspeakable crime of Mrs. Saunders…

Emilie had decided to assign partners for the mid-term project, and had paired up her precious baby bats with people they are highly unlikely to get along with. However, she wasn't so heartless as to set them up willy-nilly. She was careful to make it so that they'd be in easy reach of one another incase they needed help or support.

She paired up her students as follows. Georgie was to be partnered up with Ike Broflovski, Henrietta with Kyle Broflovski, Dylan with Stan Marsh, and Ethan with Stan's sister Shelly. Needless to say, the gothlings and said partners berated her for it. They argued, they pleaded, they tried to bargain with their teacher all to no avail. Emilie was at one point forced to threaten to fail anyone who did not cooperate with their assigned partners thus ending the argument. After imparting the details of their assignments, which was to pick a scene from a movie or play and use music and creative role play to reinterpret it, she dismissed everyone and refused to open any further discussion.

You're probably wondering, _how could she be so cruel? _Well, the truth is she's not being as cruel as you'd think. Give it some thought, it'll come to you eventually…

At lunch time, the Goth kids sat at their usual spot at the far back of the cafeteria. Dylan and Ethan sat across from each other idly talking about their exams while they ate. Henrietta and Georgie were walking towards them with trays in hand. They briefly stopped at Stan and Kyle's to table to exchange a few quick words with Kyle.

Henrietta sighed reluctantly as though she really didn't want to be bothered with wasting her breath. "So when and where do you want to get together and work on our project?" she asked.

Kyle turned in his seat to face Henrietta and looked incredulous that she had actually spoken to him first. He was so dumbfounded that the only reply he muster was, "What?"

Henrietta speaking as though she were talking to someone extremely slow said, "You. Me. Project. When and where?"

Kyle furrowed his eyebrows at her sarcasm, but gave no sign of irritability in his voice.

"We can go to my place after school." he said. She nodded her affirmation and continued to her table with Georgie bringing up the rear.

The end of the school day came sooner than imagined. The four gothlings trudged out of school and went their separate ways. Henrietta and Georgie walked home with Kyle and Ike, Stan and Dylan walking the same direction before turning at a corner. Ethan hesitantly hung back, debating whether or not to walk off in another direction. Not wanting to go to Stan's house and face his least favorite person, he turned to walk the other way and unfortunately walked right into Shelly Marsh.

The Herculean girl narrowed her eyes at him and for one terrifying moment, he thought she was going to hit him. Instead, she grabbed him by the underarm and started walking after Stan and Dylan.

"Come on, turd," she said, dragging him after her, "Let's get this over with…"

**More to come very soon, thank you for reading... As a little easter egg, can you spot which paragraph I briefly break off into second person?**

**Yours Affectionately,**

**-A.C. Lucius**


	11. Chapter 11

Ethan step through the threshold of Stan and Shelly's front door and paused at the stairs. Shelly, not allowed to have boys in her room, instructed him to wait in the living room while she went upstairs to change. Ethan sat on the coach and nervously bobbled his leg up and down while waiting.

Mrs. Marsh came into the living room with a tea tray full of drinks and snacks. She sat down two glasses on the coffee table and laid out some of the snacks.

"Well, hello there." she said, "I'm Shelly's mother, Sharon."

"H-hello." Ethan replied tentatively, he didn't have much practice in being addressed by a parent other than his own, and talking politely to another grown-up still felt pretty awkward to him. He also couldn't help but wonder if she might start hitting him if he refused to play nice with her daughter.

"Just though I'd bring you kids some snacks incase you get hungry while studying." she continued holding the tray aloft, "I'm going to go give this to Stan, it was nice meeting you."

"Likewise, and thank you." was all Ethan could manage as she made her way upstairs.

Shelly came back downstairs a moment later wearing a ratty looking grey t-shirt and some pajama bottoms. Her mud colored hair was kept back in a ponytail, showing off the contours of her face. She sat down on the couch next to him and lounged back into it nonchalantly.

"So?" she demanded.

"So?" replied Ethan.

"What are we doing for our project?" Shelly said irritably.

"I don't know, I haven't given it much thought." He was still bobbing his leg up and down, causing the sofa to vibrate slightly.

"Will you stop doing that?" She kicked at his shin, Ethan immediately stopped moving his leg and sat up straighter in his seat.

"Why don't you think of something?" he said reproachfully.

Dylan sat on the computer chair in Stan's room with his back to Stan's desk. Stan sat on his bed with a glass of iced tea in his hand. The two looked at each other for a long time without speaking. After same time had passed, Dylan annoyed about the lack of progress, decided to be the bigger man and was the first to speak.

"So what do you think about bass playing as part of our project?" he asked.

"What?" Stan replied unpleasantly. Then he added, "Dude, I don't even really care about this dumb project, it's fucking gay. I don't even know why I'm bothering with it."

"Because the teacher said we had to," Dylan said, his temper flaring slightly, "and I'll be damned if I fail Mrs. Saunders' class because you refused to cooperate."

"Dude, why do you even care what some dumb teacher says? I've never known you to give a shit about anything."

"You barely know me at all, and it's your fault."

"You've been acting different since Mrs. Saunders started teaching at our school," said Stan ignoring the comment, "is it because she's a Goth?"

"You don't get it, do you?" Dylan said icily. His nostrils flared as he now struggled to keep his temper under control. "She's important to us, she cares about us. When you stand out, when you're a freak, there's a sense of companionship when you get together with people who are like you. People who understand you. You obviously don't, and you never did…"

"Oh, don't I?" Stan said sarcastically, "Was I or was I not Goth at some point? I think I have a little understanding-"

"Do you really, _Raven_? You betrayed us! You completely obliterated our trust! If you had any real understanding, you would know that leaving us the way you did was wrong. And if you think that dressing in black while wallowing in pain makes you a Goth, you are dead wrong you fucking poseur!"

"GET OUT! GET THE FUCK OUT!"

Downstairs, Shelly and Ethan sat in silence as they mulled over what they were going to do for their project. Ethan sat with his legs crossed and had now taken to rapidly jiggling his foot up and down. Shelly grabbed hold of his foot to make him stop.

"How about we do Romeo and Juliet?" Shelly suggested.

"No way." Ethan replied.

"Aw, come on! You said I could pick!"

"That was before the words Romeo and Juliet came out of your mouth."

"Why not?"

Ethan sat up and uncrossed his legs. He scooted to the edge of the couch and began counting off reasons on his fingers. "One, Romeo and Juliet is way overdone. It's like the original cliché. Two, anything else that Shakespeare has written would be better than that monstrosity. And three, there's no way we're doing a romantic love scene together, so you can just forget it."

Shelly narrowed her eyes at him and was about to retort, when muffled shouting could be heard from upstairs. The two of them paused as the shouting became even more heated. A moment later, they heard a door open and the unmistakable sound of Stan's voice screaming, "GET OUT! GET THE FUCK OUT!"

"I'm more than glad to!" Dylan shouted as he came stomping down the stairs, "And for the record, the next time Wendy Testaburger tears out your heart and tosses it to the vultures, don't expect us to pick up the pieces!"

He stormed out leaving the front door wide open. Ethan looked at the door his friend just disappeared through, then looked back at Shelly, and then looked at Stan.

"What the hell was that about?"


	12. Chapter 12

After Stan had cooled down enough to explain the argument that occurred upstairs, Ethan left promising Shelly that he would call her later. It was funny how the Marsh siblings seemed to have switched roles. Now it was Stan giving the Goth kids trouble and Shelly trying to help them. Yeah, it really is a funny world we live in. After leaving Stan's house, Ethan took off in the direction that Dylan went.

Henrietta sat next to Kyle on the couch in his living room. There were books and papers strewn all over the floor and coffee table. The two of them idly flipped through pages of their books. They'd been discussing for quite some time what they should do for their project, but unfortunately couldn't think of anything. Heaving a sigh, Kyle got up from the coach and stretched.

"I think we should take a break." he said, "Would you like anything from the kitchen?"

"Coffee." replied Henrietta stifling a yawn.

"Okay, be right back."

Kyle disappeared into the kitchen in search of food. Henrietta surveyed the living room while she waited. On the mantle were several pictures of Kyle and his little brother as well as some family portraits, and a menorah. In one corner of the room, there was a piano. A rush of excitement hit Henrietta as she took notice of it. She stood up and walked toward it to get a closer look. A bubbling sound came from the kitchen followed by the smell of brewing coffee. Kyle momentarily poked his head in the living room to let Henrietta know that her coffee would be ready in a little bit.

"So who plays the piano?" Asked Henrietta.

"Oh, that?" Replied Kyle looking at the piano, "My mom used to play."

"Is it okay if I play a little? It'll help inspire me."

"Sure, go ahead." Kyle said nonchalantly as he once again disappeared into the kitchen.

Henrietta sat at the piano bench and began by checking that the piano was in tune. Once she was satisfied that everything was in order, she began playing. She played sweetly, softly, even timidly at first, but she gradually played with more fervor until she was completely engrossed in her masterpiece. Hearing the music, Kyle walked into the living room with a stunned look on his face and a coffee mug in his hand. He placed the coffee mug on the table and walked towards the piano. With a look of astonishment, Kyle sat next to Henrietta on the bench and gazed at her as her fingers danced wildly over the ivory keys. He began to tremble with exhilaration and clasped both of his hands together to keep them from shaking. When she was done playing, Henrietta turned and was surprised to see him sitting next her. His face was as flushed as hers. The two of them felt exalted, impassioned even.

"Th-that was incredible!" Kyle exclaimed once he was able to speak. He began to tremble anew and a manic smile tugged at the ends of his lips. "I don't know what to say, I feel so expired-I mean-_in_spired!"

"Thank you." Henrietta replied, flattered. This was the first time anyone has actually gotten so excited over her piano playing. She watched him awhile longer as her adrenaline high began to wind down. He began to fidget about, unsure of what to do with himself, and she couldn't help but feel a little concerned.

"Are you feeling okay?" asked Henrietta.

"I FEEL WONDERFUL!" he howled. "I have to go to my room real quick, be right back!"

He flew up the staircase, leaving a very confused Henrietta still sitting at the piano.

Ike and Georgie were having a much easier time of things. In fact, they were already done reinterpreting the scene they were going to perform for Mrs. Saunders. Now they just needed music to go with it, something that proved only mildly challenging.

"Wow, so far so good." said a surprised Georgie. He'd been expecting this project to go horribly, he thought he'd be fighting with Ike the whole time. All around though, Ike had been really pleasant to work with. Georgie was starting think that maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

"Yeah, no kidding." replied Ike who was just as surprised, "You know, I think I kind of like you."

"Really?" Georgie replied incredulously.

"Well, I'm not going to fall madly in love with you or anything. You're just a really nice kid, you're not afraid to be different, and you don't care what other people think of you."

"Gee, that's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me! You know, you're not so bad yourself."

The two kindergarteners paused as they heard a disruption coming from downstairs. It was Kyle, who'd been shouting -not angrily, but excitedly- and was now thundering up the stairs; giving the two boys the impression of a stampede. Ike and Georgie poked their heads out in the hallway to see what the excitement was about. Kyle came running, his face was flushed and he had a crazed look in his eyes. As he ran by them, the two boys retreated back into Ike's bedroom.

"Uh-oh!" said Ike, "He's got that look!"

"That look?" Georgie inquired.

"Yeah," Ike replied conspiratorially, "When Kyle gets that excited, it can only mean one thing: he's going to play his violin!"

"Is really that awful?"

"Oh no, he's actually very good. The trouble is that he doesn't know when to stop. It drives me crazy!"

Just as Ike predicted, Kyle came out of his room moments later with his violin case in hand. Mrs. Broflovski was walking by with a laundry basket when Kyle ran by and almost knocked her over. His mother spun around in place to regain her balance, and held the laundry basket up high to keep the freshly washed linens from falling on the floor.

"Oops! Sorry, Mom!" he called over his shoulder as flew down the stairs.

"Goodness, Kyle!" Mrs. Broflovski reprimanded, "Slow down, you're making such a ruckus!"

"What the heck is going on out here?" A confused Mr. Broflovski came out into the hallway from his study.

"Oh, it's only Kyle, Gerald." his wife replied, "He's got that look again…"

"Oh no…" replied Mr. Broflovski, who quickly revised his statement at his wife's stern look, "I mean, it isn't wonderful that our son has such a precocious appreciation for music?"

Ike and Georgie were giggling quietly to themselves as the grownups made their way downstairs. Georgie stepped out into the hallway and started for the staircase.

"Where are you going?" asked Ike.

"I got to go check this out!" Georgie replied, "Let's go."


	13. Chapter 13

After spending ten minutes at Dylan's house trying to convince to him to give things with Stan another try, Ethan finally made his way home from what was an otherwise unpleasant day. The most wayward member of the Gothic Quartette proved to be very stubborn and had not yet relented from his earlier temper. However, for the sake of trying to instill some civility in him, Ethan had it out with Dylan. He followed him into the house, his angry friend walking fast to avoid him, but there was no such luck as Ethan took great strides with his long legs to keep up. Dylan marched up to his bedroom and tried to slam the door behind him before he could follow him inside, but Ethan had wedged his foot in the doorway and clasped his bony fingers around the edge of the door to keep it from closing.

"What the fuck do you want?" Dylan shouted as he reeled around to face Ethan.

"You need to apologize to Stan." Ethan replied firmly.

"That a direct order from the fearless leader?" Dylan jerkily fished around in his pockets for a cigarette. He thrust the filtered end into his mouth and flicked his long bangs out of his face as lit it. He then flung the pack down on his bed.

"Hey! I'm not the one you're angry at!" Ethan retorted.

"You didn't hear what he said-"

"So Stan fucking Marsh started it? You're still at fault! After all, I'm certain he wasn't the only one who said things he shouldn't have. Besides that, you retaliated! That makes you even more at fault!"

"Oh, really? And how do you figure?"

"Because you're the freak and he's the norm!" Ethan exclaimed, his face now turning red. "Because it's your word against his, and that's how it's always been."

The room grew uncomfortably silent. Dylan had never seen Ethan get so emotional before. The seriousness of the situation began to weigh on him and his anger subsided. An unsettledness had now taken over him.

"So that's it?" Said Dylan after a while, "That's where we stand with the conformists?"

"You know it is," Ethan replied, "and that's why we have to work at being better than them, why we have to be the bigger person. Because if we don't, they'll continue to harass us, they'll continue to think that we're up to no good."

Once Ethan was certain that they had reached an impasse, he scooped up the pack of cigarettes from Dylan's bed and pocketed a few before giving it back to him. He left the house with one of the cigarettes dangling from his lips and lit it as he walked out the front door.

After reflecting on what he told Dylan about why it was important to get along with Stan, he felt like a total ass. Ethan realized he wasn't very nice to Shelly and that it was just as important for him to get along with her. Heaving a guilty sigh, he took his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Stan's number. He was five blocks from home when Shelly answered.

"Hello?" her voice sounded a little husky.

"Hey, Shelly." Ethan replied.

"So, what's up?" Shelly asked a little concernedly.

"Um, Dylan just needs time to cool off. He'll work things out with Stan so don't worry."

"Alright then, I'll let the turd know."

There was a pause. Ethan continued walking towards his street. He was now four blocks from his house.

"Ethan?" Said Shelly, "Are you still there?"

"Yeah, I'm here." He said, "Hey, listen…."

"What's up?"

"Um… I'm sorry about earlier. I wasn't very nice to you."

"Whatever, I kind of deserve it after trying to rip your arm off."

"That still doesn't make it right, Shelly." He had stopped walking, only now just three blocks from his house. "I mean it, I'm really sorry and I want to make it up to you."

"Make it up to me?" Shelly's voice sounded a bit incredulous. Ethan can almost see her arching a skeptical eyebrow.

"If you want to do Romeo and Juliet for our project, it's fine by me."

"Okay then, yeah. I'll take you up on that." Ethan heard Shelly's mom beckoning to her in the background. "Listen, I got to go. It's time for dinner, so I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Alright then, later." And with that, they hung up and Ethan continued to walk the remaining three blocks to his house.

**More apologizes are in order! First off, sorry for the long wait. Also, sorry for yet another short chapter. _Gomenasai._ (Kowtows to everyone) The next chapter is coming soon and we are fast approaching the end of this tale. Only three or four more chapters to go after this! I hope you enjoyed reading the Elder Goth, be sure to tell your friends and leave your comments! Thank you so much for your support.**

**Yours Affectionately,**

**-A.C. Lucius**


	14. Chapter 14

Georgie, Ike, and Mr. Broflovski had nearly fallen asleep on the couch when Mrs. Broflovski came into the living room to announce that dinner was ready. They were only too happy to sit down at the dinner table, they had all but fled from the living room. For the past hour and a half, Henrietta and Kyle were incessantly having at it with their classical instruments. As fond as Georgie was of Henrietta's music, he didn't think he could take anymore.

Once Kyle had begun to demonstrate to Henrietta his skills as a violinist, there was no turning back. He played with as much fervor and intensity as Henrietta when she played the piano, and with about as much skill. The ending result was also the same as when Henrietta played. Her face had flushed with excitement when she heard Kyle play. Her heart accelerated and her body became tremulous. It was the most beautiful sound she had ever heard. The two young musicians stood looking at one another with hungry expressions. They couldn't believe that each possessed such a remarkable talent, that the other was awed and inspired. Kyle and Henrietta had begun to experiment with how they would sound together and before long, they could accompany one another in made up compositions without telling the other what to do. It just came naturally to them and it felt right.

As everyone made their way into the kitchen, Henrietta grabbed her purse from the couch and began digging through it.

"I'll be right there in a moment," she said, "I have to check my blood sugar."

"Alright dear," Mrs. Broflovski replied, "and Kyle, it's time for your insulin shot too."

"Oh, okay mom." Kyle said as Mrs. Broflovski handed him a little black pouch containing his blood sugar monitor and his medication. He didn't sound very thrilled about having to poke himself with needles, but then most diabetics aren't.

Kyle sidled up to Henrietta with his little black pouch in hand and took out his blood sugar monitor. He couldn't help but notice how she had everything in her kit surgically laid out in front of her on the coffee table. She didn't seem phased when she poked her finger and watched as a droplet of blood welled up at the tip of it. Kyle couldn't understand how she could be so nonchalant about it. He always cringed whenever he poked his fingers, and his stomach always did back flips whenever he plunged the needle into his arm. And don't get him started on blood! He can't stand the sight of it, even if it's his own. He tried to resist the urge to gag when blood welled up at the tip of his own finger, and applied the droplet to the plastic strip with a trembling hand.

"So, you're diabetic too?" Kyle asked.

"Mm hmm," Henrietta replied nodding her head. She was sucking her bloody fingertip while waiting for the machine to give her blood sugar count. Kyle felt his stomach perform another loop-de-loop.

"You don't like blood, do you?" asked Henrietta as her machine gave a little beep. Kyle shook his head. "It's okay if you don't, it really isn't that big of a deal… holy shit…" That last comment was about her blood sugar monitor. The reading that just appeared on the screen was high, two hundred and thirty-seven!

Henrietta sighed and shook her head as she filled her needle with insulin. "I shoot up insulin the way a drugee shoots up crack, it's no wonder I'm so fucking fat."

Kyle had been about to respond when his blood sugar monitor beeped.

"Aw man." He said. His blood sugar, while not as high as Henrietta's, still required an insulin injection. Sparing the needle in front of him a despairing look, he gagged, the unpleasant sound rising from the back of his throat.

"Do you need any help?" Henrietta offered. She had already cleared away her things and properly disposed of her needle.

Kyle grudgingly accepted her help, and before he could change his mind she began rubbing the crook of his arm with an alcohol swab and scooped the needle up off the coffee table. Kyle looked away as she uncapped the pre-filled needle with her teeth and gently stuck the end of the needle into him. A few seconds later, Henrietta was putting a band-aid over the tiny puncture and then it was over.

"That's it?" Kyle said incredulously, "I didn't even feel it!"

"I told you it was no big deal, you just have to know what you're doing."

Dylan was pensive. He laid in bed staring at his ceiling, and thought about his fight with Stan and his conversation with Ethan. Stan was obnoxiously thoughtless and the things he said about him and Mrs. Saunders really bugged him. It bugged him even more that Ethan wanted him to go apologize and make up with him. _Because you're the freak and he's the norm. _Ethan had said. _Because it's your word against his and that's how it's always been! _Because deep down, Dylan knew that Ethan was right. He did say things that he shouldn't have, there were a million other ways that he could've handled that situation. But he was too proud to admit in front of anyone that he had made a mistake, and too proud to not let his anger rule him.

He couldn't help but remember the sadness that was on Ethan face, the uneasiness it made him feel to see his friend go off in such a passion. Dylan knew that it was because Ethan was hurting. Being misunderstood, being unaccepted, being treated as less than a human. It hurt all of them, but for reasons that Dylan couldn't begin to fathom, it hurt Ethan most of all. One thing that he did realize however, was that they had taken the Lady of the Manners' lessons to heart and they gave them hope. Hope that someday, they will be accepted and people will like them for who they are and not what's on the outside.

Another thing that he realized was that he was hurting too, and that's why he's always the first to get angry and the first to start a fight. Anger made him forget about the pain, anger made everything better. But not today, today anger was his enemy…

Dylan sat up and reached over to his nightstand to turn on his stereo. He turned up the volume to a blaring roar and lit another cigarette before laying back down. He allowed his thoughts to wonder away from the day's drama and thought about trivial things. Like the band that playing loudly on his stereo. Sometime after his cigarette went out, he started drifting off to sleep…

Germany, the Sixteenth Century

Dylan sat in a big plushy chair in front the fireplace of his laboratory. He was bored and frustrated with his boredom. Surveying the lab equipment on his table, he found himself once again engrossed in thoughts about how life had so very little left to offer him. With his alchemy and his science, he had learned more than anyone of his time could ever hope to learn. Yet to his dismay, he still yearned for more…

Dylan's thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. When he spoke, he experienced the same taken aback feeling he had when he dreamt about Ethan and himself at a blacking factory in England. To Dylan's surprise, when he did speak, it was in German!

"Who is it? Come in!" he said.

"It is I…" Came a deep, gravelly voice.

"Come in!" Dylan said again. He was now facing the door in anticipation.

"It must be said three times…" The gravelly voice answered.

Heaving a sigh, Dylan replied, "Come in then!"

The door to the laboratory creaked open and a towering cloven-footed figure entered the room. The figure had to have been at least seven feet tall, and had an immensely muscular physique. He had horns resting atop of his head and his skin was a deep shade of crimson.

Dylan had seen this man before. Everyone in South Park has seen him around occasionally looking to start trouble or start a huge party. This was Satan, the Devil himself. If Dylan was surprised that he was carrying on a conversation with the Devil in German, he even more so surprised by how they addressed one another.

"Mephistopheles." Dylan greeted him with a courteous gesture.

"Faust," the big red creature replied, "have you made your decision yet?"

The scene changed… Dylan was sitting at his writing desk, trying to smear words onto a piece of paper with blood from his finger. When he was done, he handed the paper to Satan/Mephistopheles and prostrated himself before the Devil.

"I am jaded." Dylan proclaimed, "All of the knowledge in the world is not enough to keep me content. I long for so much more, but there is nothing more to be learned. I know everything yet, still know nothing. If there was anything more to be gained from this accursed existence, I would gladly trade my soul to you for all the mysteries of the universe and the powers such knowledge would bring. I sign my soul over to you, Mephistopheles, in a contract written in blood. And if I should ever say to you, 'don't go, thou art so beautiful,' may my soul be damned. If ever I should find myself happy and content with my life, may I drop dead on the spot. This I promise to you, Mephistopheles!"

With that Dylan stood and signed the contract with his blood. Satan/Mephistopheles rolled up the parchment and the contract disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Satan ceremoniously approached him and kissed him on both cheeks. It was an evil benediction meant only for his followers and Dylan was now and forever his servant.

"Now then," the Devil said in his deep voice, "shall we get started….?"

Dylan sat up suddenly with gasp. He looked around and realized it had been a dream. A very twisted dream. It left him feeling completely terrified and he trembled as he got up from his bed and turned off the stereo. He went to the bathroom to relief himself and splash some cold water on his face. Once he was completely awake, he checked the clock in the hallway. It was only six-forty-five in the evening! He hadn't been asleep for very long at all and yet it felt like hours. After reflecting on his disturbing nightmare, an idea occurred to him.

Dylan had decided for once to swallow his pride as he took out his cell phone and dialed a number. There was an answer on the third ring.

"Hello?" a voice answered.

"Hello, Stan?" said Dylan, "We need to talk…"


	15. Chapter 15

**I know, I know, I know! I owe you guys even more ass-kissing apologizes for taking so long to update this story. There's no excuse really. Also, until I've finished _Chaos Is My Name_, this is going to be the last update for a while... But never fear! I promise _Chaos Is My Name _will be finished soon so I can focus on finishing _The Elder Goth_. I may also do a brief update on _Manta Abridged _depending on how I'm feeling, but enough of my rambling! It's story time!**

**-Yours Affectionately,**

**A.C. Lucius**

Some time after dessert, Ike and Georgie fell asleep at the dinner table. (They're five, what do you expect?) The sight of the two was quite a spectacle to Henrietta and Kyle who couldn't help but laugh. The two kindergarteners laid slumped in their chairs, mouths a gaped and heads lulled to the side. Mrs. Broflovski looked dotingly at her younger son and sighed affectionately.

"Aw, my sweet little boobala is all tuckered out…" She said and moved to pick him up.

As she tried to carefully lift Ike from the chair, she accidentally disturbed Georgie who started and bolted upright in his seat.

"Oh my gosh!" he exclaimed, "Did I just fall asleep?" He looked both frightened and apologetic at the same time.

"Oh, that's alright sweetie," Mrs. Broflovski waved her hand in a "don't worry about it" gesture, "it's understandable. It's probably past your bedtime as well…"

"My bedtime?" Georgie said nervously. His eyes darted helplessly to Henrietta.

"Why yes," Kyle's mom continued, "It's seven o' clock, that's very late for a boy your age. You should call your folks to come pick you up."

Henrietta dropped her fork in alarm, the utensil making a loud clanging noise on her plate. She abruptly stood from her seat and moved to stand by Georgie.

"Actually Mrs. Broflovski," she began, "I'm usually the one in charge of escorting Georgie to and from school…"

"I know you mean well honey," the woman interrupted firmly, "but I would feel more comfortable if Georgie's parents came to get him."

The chubby Goth girl seethed inwardly at the woman's argument. She had a very valid point, but at the moment Henrietta agreed with every kid in town when they say that Kyle's mom needs to her mind her own fucking business. She tried to swallow this unfounded anger when the unexpected happened. Throughout the duration of this conversation, Georgie sat motionless in his chair eyeing the mother and child pair in front of him. Ike yawned and gave a little groan as he stirred in his mother's arms. Mrs. Broflovski cradled the small boy and gently rubbed his back. He continued to stare at Ike with an expression of contemptuous jealousy as tears of sadness and frustration rolled down his cheeks. Seconds later, the little kindergoth jumped from his seat at the diner table and bolted out the front door.

Henrietta's heart just about dropped out of her ass in the next few moments of awkward silence that followed. Kyle and Mr. and Mrs. Broflovski all had their eyes trained on her, and she knew they were expecting an explanation. She sighed, resolving to tell them the truth. They meant well and didn't deserve to be lied to even if they were a nosey bunch. Plus, she didn't want to get in Kyle's bad graces by acting like a jerk. She didn't know why, but she actually kind of liked him.

"Georgie is a ward of the state," Henrietta provided hastily as she quickly gathered her things, "no one knows where his parents are or if they're even still alive…"

"Whoa, wait a minute!" Kyle piped up as he nervously watched her move about, "You're not leaving are you?"

"I have to go look him, before he gets too far-"

"Oh, no you don't, young lady!" Mrs. Broflovski interjected, "Not by yourself, you're not! Gerald, take the car, you're going with her."

Her husband heaved a submissive sigh and grabbed the car keys off the kitchen counter. Within minutes, Henrietta was riding down the street in the backseat of the Broflovski's station wagon, with Kyle sitting up front next to his dad.

"My whole day just suddenly went south." Henrietta sighed with her head in her hands.

"You okay?" Asked Kyle, "Look, I'm really sorry about my mom…"

"Don't…" she deadpanned, "It's cool, your mom's… nice. I know she didn't mean any harm, it's just that… the parent thing, it's a touchy subject for Georgie."

"Well, that's perfectly understandable considering that he's a ward of the state." said Mr. Broflovski, his eyes trained on the road in front of him. It's a wonder that anyone can keep up with the man's lawyer lingo.

"What does that even mean?" Kyle asked his father.

"It means that Georgie is in foster care, and that it's the state of Colorado's responsibility to see to his wellbeing."

"Why can't someone just adopt him like we did with Ike?"

"It's not that easy Kyle. You see, Ike had already been put up for adoption before he was even born, and we made arrangements to bring him home with us the day of his birth. I'm guessing that Georgie however, has been in the foster care system for a while now. It's going to take a long time to find him an adoptive family, not just anyone can do the job. It takes a special individual to care for someone like Georgie."

"You should run for district attorney." Henrietta said with a touch of cynicism.

Everything Mr. Broflovski said was true, but that didn't make it right or fair. _Georgie deserves to have a loving family just as a much Ike does!_ She thought indignantly. The last part especially resonated with her. _It takes a special individual to care for someone like Georgie… _Henrietta found herself thinking back to their first picnic in the cemetery with Mrs. Saunders, how her friend Lily excitedly took their portrait which now sat on her bedroom dresser. She thought of how easily the little kindergoth melted the hearts of those he surrounds himself with and she just knew, Georgie already had a family. His very own _Addams Family…_

"Hey! I think I see something!" Kyle exclaimed suddenly.

Henrietta looked out the window and sure enough, they had spotted Georgie standing in front of the cemetery. The little kindergoth had been attempting to hitchhike when he took notice of the station wagon pulling up next to him. He approached the vehicle, heaving an "Oh, thank God!" and stopped suddenly when he saw who was in the front seat of the car. Georgie stood petrified like a deer caught in the headlights, and then darted away through the cemetery entrance.

"Georgie, wait!" Henrietta shouted as she climbed out of the car and gave chase, "Georgie, please come back!"


	16. Chapter 16

**Bad News**

Due to an unfortunate computer error, **ALL** fanfictions are now on** PERMENATE **hiatas. I'm very sorry for the inconvience. However, I will continue writing. Perhaps some time next week, I will be back with fresh material. Once again, I apologize this was a very difficult decision of which there was absolutely no choice but to make. Have a good evening and happy writing .

Yours Affectionately,

-A.C. Lucius


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